Chapter 34 Billionaire's Scandal

• Gerald slumped in his leather chair, the weight of the circulating video pressing down on him like a millstone. He knew the footage wasn’t fabricated—no amount of denial could erase the stark reality of his hands shoving Elise down the stairs, her lifeless body sprawled at the bottom. The internet buzzed with condemnation, Imperium Group’s stock plummeted, and yet Gerald’s mind churned not with guilt, but with vengeance. Richard Fontaine—the name burned in his thoughts like a brand. The man who had undermined him at every turn, the architect of his current humiliation, would pay. Gerald’s empire might be crumbling, but he’d claw his way back to the top, and Richard would rue the day he crossed him.
• Years ago, when Elise was still alive, the world had been different. She had handed him Imperium Group with a smile and a trust he’d later betray, and for a time, it seemed nothing could stop his ascent. The company soared under his leadership, its name synonymous with power and innovation. But then TitanCorp emerged, a dark horse in the market, helmed by Richard Fontaine—a man of relentless drive and infuriating talent. Single-handedly, Richard had built TitanCorp from the ground up, brick by brick, until it stood as Imperium’s only true rival. The two companies jostled for dominance, their rivalry a quiet war waged in boardrooms and stock exchanges.
• Gerald remembered the day the scales tipped, a memory that still stung with visceral clarity. It had been a deal—a massive contract with a consortium of investors that promised to catapult Imperium into uncharted heights. He’d poured everything into it: sleepless nights, meticulous proposals, every ounce of his cunning. The meeting room had been stifling, the air thick with anticipation as he sat across from the lead investor, a wiry man with a penchant for adjusting his glasses.